COMPARATIVE STUDY. Tanya Pueblaa Puebla

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1 COMPARATIVE STUDY Tanya Pueblaa Puebla My comparative study will focus on analyzing and interpreting the artist Kathe Kollwitz and Edvard Munch, their works and my own. The works I will be analyzing, critiquing and comparing are Hunger and Memorial Sheet of Karl Liebknecht by Kathe Kollwitz to The Scream by Edvard Munch. Based on their artwork, I will be critiquing the themes of loss and perspective in the art pieces that provoke emotion from audience, such as eeriness and sorrow, and how the mediums are used in order to create those particular emotions. I will also be taking into account the movements they influenced and their intentions as well as comparing these different aspects of their artworks and comparing them to my own pieces.

2 EVALUATION OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF KATHE KOLLWITZ Kathe Kollwitz was considered of the most important artist in the German Expressionist movement of the 20 th century. Her art works mainly focused on the depictions of women during a time period where men dominated the art world. Her ability to depict emotion through strokes and contrast between light and dark were a reflection of the time period. Self-Portrait with Hand on the Forehead Käthe Kollwitz Etching and Drypoint 1910 (44.8 x 31.1 cm) In her self portraits, she often has a serious and tired expression as an effect from living in a time period where war was almost the norm. She further expresses her thoughts of war in letters such as stating, People have been transformed so that they have this capacity for endurance Worst of all is that every war already carries within the war which will answer it. Every war is answered by a new war, until everything, everything is smashed. Knowing she was going to die due to the war her last letter stated, War accompanies me to the end. Hunger Käthe Kollwitz Woodcut1923 Her art was meant to express the realities of war and trigger emotions such as sorrow, anguish and loneliness. Her artworks consisted of war victims and the loss of loved ones. Due to the amount of death during WWI, she was hostile towards the arrogance of the philistine of Germany, Communism and the subject of war. Having experience the atrocities of war, she understood that war brought along poverty, hunger, hatred, guilt and death. Thus, these themes are often conveyed in her artworks.

3 INTERPRETATION OF FUNCTION AND PURPOSE ANNOTATION OF MEMORIAL SHEET OF KARL LIEBKNECHT BY KATHE KOLLWITZ Expressions and hand placement add emphasis to the feeling of sorrow. Dark shadow made from the ink make the cheeks look hollow Repetitive strokes make the texture look worn out contributing the mournful atmosphere. Uses black to add shadow and uses beige and white as highlight to indicate that the death was devastating. Large amount of people expresses how influential Karl Liebknecht was and how he affected a large population. The death of the Communist Leader, Karl Liebknecht, caused major grief during WWI. Kathe uses a stiff form to emphasize the effect of death on a person and how precious a life can be.

4 INTERPRETATION OF FUNCTION AND PURPOSE ANNOTATION OF HUNGER BY KATHE KOLLWITZ White lines on the mother contrast from the dark clothing to reveal her ribs. Black areas are used to indicate hollow eyes and cheeks and that the child has passed away. Thin white lines outline the bones and emphasize how malnourished the child was. The white is used to create gaps and holes in the clothing. Her boney hands cover her face to indicate her grief for the death of her child. Large patches of black and white space is left over in order to not distract from the mother and child.

5 ANALYSIS OF FORMAL QUALITIES OF KATHE KOLLWITZ Kathe Kollwitz is able to express intense emotions such as anguish and grief. Immediately after looking at the public s expressions while surrounding the dead figure, draws out the emotions of misery and sadness. Her first hand experience of WWI, contributes how the death of a leader can greatly impact those who admired the figure. She is able to create a memorial and acknowledge the leader without advocating his communist ideologies. Although she was not communist, she admired his charisma and agreed to create a memorial for Karl Liebknecht. The repetition of strokes adds on the balance between black and white. Both aspects add emphasis to the emotions of grief and sorrow making the theme of death clear to the audience. The stroke's patterns add texture and highlight the cheekbones making them give a hollow effect suggesting the idea of grief in the crowds face as well as portraying the face of the dead. The thin and thick lines in the hands are used to create a worn look suggesting how much death and war can wear down a population. Sketch Breakdown by Me Memorial Sheet of Karl Liebknecht by Kathe Kollwitz Woodcut heightened with white and black ink, cm The emotion of hope the communist leader gave to the population must have been great considering the how many people are depicted in Kollwitz s art piece who mourned for his death. In addition, Kathe Kollwitz uses a limited color palette creating large amounts of contrast between black and white giving a somber atmosphere. The overwhelming use of contrast combined with the amount of stokes and forms, leaves no empty space in the Memorial Sheet of Karl Liebknecht, further suggesting the amount of influence Liebknecht had. The way he is laid, with a white robe and stiff position resembles the death of Christ and the mourning of his disciples.

6 A woman holds a young child as other women search for belongings among the ruins of their homes, which were destroyed by the Germans, in the Belgian village of Melle in September 1914 Johnny Goldsmith August 2014 ANALYSIS OF FORMAL QUALITIES OF KATHE KOLLWITZ In Kathe Kollwitz piece, Hunger she uses highlight on both the mother and child s chest areas to indicate protruding ribs suggesting that both figures are malnourished. A variety of thin and thick lines are used to portray details in their limbs to exaggerate how thin the mother and child was at the time of death. Highlights and shadows are also used in the child s face to darken the eyes and show hollow cheeks in order to show that the child has passed, causing the mother grief. This is shown by the position of the mothers hands, which are covering her face. Covering the mother s face with her hands reveals that only the mother s mouth and positions are needed to impact the audience with the emotions of grief and despair. Her hidden face implies the mother having feelings of self-guilt, blaming herself for the death of her child. Kollwitz has her facing upwards towards the sky as an act of repent as well as expression. Hunger By Kathe Kollwitz Woodcut1923 The space is equally divided by black and white to direct attention to the focal points of the piece, the details on the mother and child. The blank background and plain clothing are left this way for the same purpose. Simple details, lines the holes and tears on the mother s sleeves and the lack of clothing on the child suggest their economical status to be of the lower class. The piece is symmetrical with slight imbalance to disregard what may have been happening in the background and show how background noise is insignificant when the death occurs. A woman weeps at the roadside in Antwerp next to her worldly possessions a table, some pots and pans and a stone statue in August 1914 Johnny Goldsmith August 2014

7 EVALUATION OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EDVARD MUNCH Edvard Munch is an expressionist painter and printer who played a major role in the late 20 th century German Expressionist movement. He grew up with a family with ill health where he lost his mother and sister to tuberculosis, later lost his father and brother and another sister who was diagnosed with a mental illness. Thus, many of his works in his early years represented the repressed emotions he grew up with due to the many deaths he s witnessed. In addition, another important factor that influenced him, was a circle of artist and writers, called the Karitiana Bohème, who opposed bourgeois thinking and narrow mindedness. This influence him and created works that focused on how the objects should be viewed internally rather than only focusing on how they look visually. The Sun by Edvard Munch 1909 The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893 His artistic style developed around 1892 where his work reached a psychological revelation and a style similar to Art Nouveau. He portrayed aggressive emotions, unusual imagery and representations of sexuality that lead up to controversy. The controversial themes spread his name and influence because of critics who disliked his art. Later, he experimented with graphic art like etching, lithographs and woodcuts. Munch experimented by using actual grains of wood to express messages more effectively and succeed. He inspired later artist as well as provided advocacy for German Expressionism and the universal aspects of human experience. Overall, he concentrated on emotions that later led onto expressive forms and use of color rather than using them as a descriptor. He expressed his ideas by using contrasting lines, dark colors and exaggerated tones. Munch summarized his art work by stating, Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.

8 INTERPRETATION OF FUNCTION AND PURPOSE: ANNOTATION OF THE SCREAM BY EDVARD MUNCH Expressionist interpretation of Munich s actual experience of a scream he heard while on a walk. The lines and curves represent the effect the scream had. Two figures in the background suggest the companions that kept walking while feeing a scream distort nature around him. Being at the perspective near the screaming figure makes objects in the background smaller and almost unidentifiable. The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893 The combination of the curved lines and contrast of blue and orange cause an eerie atmosphere. There are limited color values of blue and orange making the land, sky and water be divided. Figure takes up a large part of the artwork, acting as a focal point, creating an imbalance of space in the art piece.

9 ANALYSIS OF FORMAL QUALITIES OF EDVARD MUNCH Munch expressed his obsessions of human mortality such as chronic disease, sexual liberation and religion by using intense colors and hue s to help depict a subject. When the audience experiences The Scream they can t help but question why the human like figure is screaming and who the figures in the background are. The main focal point of The Scream is the distorted, fetus like figure who is screaming while facing the audience. The screaming figures raises the question of why, who or what the figure is screaming at. The figure is surrounded by a deformed orange sky and dark blue water, enhancing the atmosphere which is a combination of anxiety and uneasiness. The way the figure is screaming is very unhuman like the unnatural distortion in the background which is suggesting that the figure is being affected by the surrounding environment. The scream of nature caused the distorted background as well as the figure, making it form indistinguishable but the figures don t seem distorted which reveals that the figures were not affected or did not notice the scream of nature that occurred. The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893

10 ANALYSIS OF FORMAL QUALITIES OF EDVARD MUNCH The skewed perspective creates an imbalance causing the piece to have an asymmetrical composition. In addition, the skewed perspective leads up to the two distorted figures in the background contribute to the sense of agony the main figure is expressing making the viewer question the context of this art piece. Questions that are typically asked are why is it screaming?, who are they?, Did something bad happen?, etc. The figure appears to be fading near the bottom of its torso, illustrating it as if it was fading from the walk way. Thus, the figures in the background are walking away as if the screaming figure was never there or they didn t notice it. Although the space isn t confined, the contours surrounding the figure enable a claustrophobic feeling which connects to the theme of fear. The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893 Diagram Sketch by Me The orange sky reveals the time, in the afternoon, in which the scream of nature occurred. This is supported by the slight shadows on the walkway created by the figures in the background. The positions of the figures and their shadows indicate where the sun was in the background, which was towards the left side of the art piece. Since the shadows are elongated it is inferred that it is the dusk or the end of the day, hence why the sky is a dark orange rather than a blue.

11 CONTRASTING ARTISTIC STYLES Hunger By Kathe Kollwitz Woodcut1923 Memorial Sheet of Karl Liebknecht by Kathe Kollwitz Woodcut heightened with white and black ink, cm

12 The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893 CONTRASTING ARTISTIC STYLES

13 COMPARING THE USE OF EMOTION

14 CONTRASTING THE USE OF EMOTION: KOLLWITZ V. MUNCH

15 CONTRASTING THE USE OF EMOTION: KOLLWITZ V. MUNCH

16 FORMAL INTRODUCTION TO OWN WORKS Frayed By Me I created Frayed using themes similar to those express in The Scream. I wanted the audience to question why an elderly man was screaming to what seems to be agony. I expressed what the older generation may feel when they are treated like they are unable to anything due to their old age. I felt like if I were treated as if I was useless, I would want to scream and let others know that I m still my own being that shouldn t be treated as if I don t know anything. My second piece, Drudge, I wanted to express the feeling of exhaust that many people feel when they start getting older and the effects of stress. I created a portrait to represent how I started feeling often once I entered high school. I used small strokes to emphasize the emotion of dread to better give a lifeless feeling. Drudge By Me

17 COMPARING AND CONTRASTING OWN USE OF EMOTION AND STYLE TO EDVARD MUNCH Frayed The Scream Both

18 COMPARING AND CONTRASTING OWN USE OF EMOTIONS AND STYLE TO KATHE KOLLWITZ Drudge Memorial Sheet of Karl Liebknecht Both

19 COMPARING AND CONTRASTING OWN USE OF EMOTIONS AND STYLE TO KATHE KOLLWITZ Frayed Hunger Both

20 COMPARING AND CONTRASTING OWN ARTISTIC STYLES Frayed Drudge Both